Gaining Weight During Menopause
Author: Raj Kumar Weight gain is a problem that is engulfing a magnitude of people these days. In this context it is usually a result of unhealthy diet or lack of physical activity. However, women in the age bracket of forty to fifty or even those in their thirties should verify their weight gain reason because it may be result of menopause, in which case weight gain is a normal occurrence and not a fault of woman herself.
CAUSES OF WEIGHT GAIN IN MENOPAUSE:
Menopausal weight gain happens because of fluctuation in hormone levels in the body and hormones directly impact appetite, metabolism, libido and fat storage. Hormones involved in weight maintenance are estrogen, androgen, progesterone and testosterone and they affect as described below:
· Estrogen: This hormone plays a major in weight gain. During menopause estrogen levels fall and body looks at the fat cells to produce more estrogens. The body converts calories to fat cells and thus arise the weight gain.
· Androgen: This hormone is responsible for sending new weight to the body's middle section. During menopause this hormone is in abundance and hence it leads to build up weight and fat around abdominal area.
· Progesterone: Progesterone levels also fall during menopause. This hormone is believed to be responsible for appropriate water retention. With fall in progesterone levels more water is retained in the body leading to bloating and probably weight gain too.
· Testosterone: This hormone helps the body in creating lean muscle mass out of calories taken. Muscle cells burn more calories than fat cells and increase metabolism. With menopause this hormone also declines and hence leads to lower metabolism and lower burning rate of calories.
· Other factors leading to weight gain can be stress or insulin resistance. Gain in stress hormones during menopause makes the body to store more calories in the form of fat, because stress hormones take the body in a storage mode. Insulin resistance is a situation where the body mistakenly turns every calorie into fat. This happens due to a consistent consumption of processed and refined foods over the years.
TREATMENTS OF MENOPAUSAL WEIGHT GAIN:
Treatments that may be followed are:
· Remaining active to increase metabolism and fat burning.
· Reduce in take of caffeine, nicotine and alcohol to exacerbate water retention.
· Do not adopt crash diets. It will slow metabolism and increases risk of osteoporosis.
· Eat balanced diet with more in take of fruits and vegetables. Avoid refine sugar.
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